ABSTRACT
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (‘the right to health’) as an economic and social right is firmly established under international human rights law.1 One of the unique contributions of the right to health framework is that it provides a rather objective and comprehensive framework for accountability.2 Although still subject to progressive realisation, the right to health gives rise to a range of core obligations of immediate effect, including the obligation to establish accountability mechanisms.3 Human rights norms and standards provide a compelling normative framework to define human rights based accountability and to develop effective accountability mechanisms for advancing the right to health.4
